Ricciuti Column: Marlborough on roll in soccer

Both of Marlborough's soccer teams are having excellent seasons. In last weekend's football action both Marlborough and Assabet were topped.

Phil Ricciuti/Sports Correspondent

It’s been a good first half of the season for both boys and girls soccer at Marlborough High School.

The boys team came into Tuesday’s Midland B clash with Westborough with a 10-2-2 record. The Panthers are in second place in Midland B with a record of 4-1-1 and still have an outside chance at catching league-leading Groton-Dunstable. The Crusaders came into this week with a 7-0 league record. The Panthers have three league games left, including a key match with the Crusaders next Tuesday. They will host Fitchburg this afternoon at 4 p.m. and will conclude the regular season against Hudson Oct. 27 at Kelleher Field at 7 p.m.

Panthers coach Steve Bishop has been pleased with his team’s effort over the first part of the season. “We’re playing fairly well. We’ve had a good run against with some really good teams over the last couple of weeks,” he said. “I’m proud of where we are. I think if you told me would be 10-2-2 I would have told you we would take that.”

Junior Marcelo Cunha is leading the Panthers in scoring with eight goals and three assists. Senior Jose Ceja is second with four goals and three assists. Others who have helped offensively are senior Gabriel Gomes-Pereira with two goals and four assists and Armadno Canella, who has five assists. Freshman Isaque Cuoto’s goal against Hudson last week was his fourth of the season.

The Panthers captured their first meeting with Hudson 2-0 under the lights at Hudson’s Morgan Bowl last week. The Hawks and Panthers battled to a scoreless first half before Couto gathered in a pass from Canela and fired a shot that eluded Hudson keeper Connor Bacon with 23:31 remaining. Ceja scored an unassisted insurance goal that went high into the Hudson net with 5:22 left.

“I thought we started playing well 15-20 minutes into the second half, possessing the ball, moving around and getting more guys involved,” Bishop said.

Neither team was able had an advantage in a first half that featured good defensive play on both sides of the field. Both teams were able to move the ball into the other’s territory throughout the half, but almost every attempt at mounting an offense was stymied by the opposing defense.

“It wasn’t our best effort. We weren’t really mentally sharp, so it was a little disappointing to me.” Bishop said.

Marlborough began last week by overpowering Quabbin 5-0 in a league game. Senior captain Gab Pereira had a hat trick for the Panthers. Canela and Ceja also tallied. Torres had to make just one save to record the shutout.

In last Saturday’s game, Cunha scored in the 63rd minute to break a scoreless tie as Marlborough topped Worcester North 2-0 in a non-league game. Pereira added a goal with six minutes left.

Prior to the season Panther girls coach Samantha Cramer set a goal of winning more games than last year and going deeper into the playoffs. Following last week’s 5-1 victory over Hudson the Panthers had come within one win of reaching that goal. Last year, the Panthers finished the regular season with an 8-8-2 record and were eliminated 3-1 by Wachusett in the first round of the Division I tournament. Last week’s win over Hudson improved the Panthers to 8-1-3. The Panthers went undefeated (6-0-3) in their first nine games before losing 2-1 to Algonquin in a battle of undefeated teams. The Panthers wasted little time in opening up a big lead against Hudson last week. Senior forward Anna McCabe scored twice early in the first half. Her first goal was scored with less than three minutes gone and her second came a few minutes later. Her first goal came on a shot high into the net with an assist from junior Coleen Condry. Her second goal came when she headed a centering pass from junior Juliane Corey. Sarah Purcell and Shauna Butler added unassisted first-half goals to send the Panthers into halftime with a 4-0 lead. Junior midfielder Audrey DiBuono put Hudson on the scoreboard early in the second half before junior Sara Cyr concluded the scoring for the Panthers. Senior Jennifer Bombard assisted on the goal.

Cramer attributes her team’s early success primarily to having veteran players. “I think that the girls are pretty experienced now. It’s been pretty much the same core team for three years and they have gotten used to playing together,” she said. “I think it’s basically four years of hard work playing off.”

Many players have stepped up this season. Among the leaders are seniors Sarah Purcell, Jennifer Bombard and McCabe, and Condry.

“Anna is one of our hardest-working players, not only in games, but in practices,” Cramer said. “Sarah is very technically sound. She is a hustler who gives 100 percent every day. Coleen and Jennifer have really stepped up and are a presence in the middle of the field. We really have a great core team, both in the front and in the back.

“We really worked hard over the summer and have worked very hard together,” McCabe said. “I think it helps me personally when my team works hard. I’ve just been trying my best because it’s my last year. We just want to keep winning and just be ready and prepared for the playoffs because we really want to go far.”

The Panthers faced Westborough in a battle for first place in Midland B Tuesday night. They came into the game trailing the Rangers by a game. The Panthers and Rangers played to a scoreless tie in their first meeting last month. Marlborough plays at Fitchburg today at 4 p.m.

********

Football

Marlborough got a taste of Eastern Mass. Division I football when it hosted Boston College High School last Friday night. The Panthers lost 28-12, but played the Eagles tough and gave an indication of just what kind of a team they may turn out to be before the season ends.

“Our kids played hard. We could have caved, but we didn’t,” Panther coach Sean Mahoney said. “We kept playing hard and got ourselves back into the game. We’re still making young mistakes, but when we get a little smarter we’re going to be a good football team. We’ve played some tough teams, but I’m encouraged by how good we could become.”

It became obvious when the Eagles’ Jackson Buckhurst sailed the opening kickoff through Marlborough’s end zone that it might be a long night for the Panthers. Three of his five kickoffs went for touchbacks. A second went out of bounds deep in Marlborough territory and the fifth was returnable, but only to the Panther 23.

The Eagles scored quickly when a defensive end picked off a Mike Yates pass in the Panther backfield and raced for a 20-yard touchdown. The B.C. High offense got into the act on its first possession when it marched 59 yards on 10 plays, which ended with a 15-yard touchdown pass.

The Eagles struck paydirt again in the second quarter on a 70-yard touchdown pass from Brendan Craven to Lincoln Collins.

Later, Marlborough took over on its own 28. Mahoney decided to go into his bag of tricks on first down. Yates passed to wide receiver Jose Caquias on the right flat. Caquias then unleashed a long pass that hit John Rumney in full stride down the right sideline. Rumney was stopped on the Eagle 4. Three plays later, Yates ran it in from the 1 to put the Panthers on the scoreboard with four seconds left in the first half. B.C. High increased its lead to 28-6 in the fourth quarter before Caquias scored on a 22-yard Yates pass with 5:37 left.

Sophomore William Cowdry led the Panthers’ running attack with 40 yards on seven carries and made several tackles on defense.

“Willy’s tough as nails. He’s going to be a very good football player,” Mahoney said.

“I was really psyched up to play a good team like B.C. High,” Cowdrey said.

Cowdry was enthusiastic about the remainder of the season. We’ve got some tough teams coming up, but I just want to beat them,” he said.

********

West Boylston scored 31 second-half points on its way to a 45-14 win over Assabet Valley last Friday night. The Lions opened the scoring on their first possession, but Assabet struck right back with a 13-play, 79-yard drive that ended with Kyle Fernandes carrying it in from 2 yards out.

The Lions scored another touchdown to take a 14-6 lead into the locker room at halftime. West Boylston added a third score early in the third period when Alex Churchill picked off a Fernandes pass and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown. Once again the Aztecs responded. This time they drove 67 yards with Paul Harpin bringing it in from the 7. The touchdown cut West Boylston’s lead to 22-14, but the Lions then scored 23 unanswered points.

Phil Ricciuti is a Marlborough Enterprise sports correspondent. He can be reached at Phil.ricciuti@gmail.com

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
Marlborough Enterprise ~ 33 New York Ave., Framingham MA 01701 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service